When I had small children in the house I had a loaded revolver in the top of my closet, all I had to do was get out of bed and it was right there. They could not get to it or reach it. When I left the house, it either went with me or it was unloaded. I don't have kids in the house now, and although I have many semi-auto handguns a revolver is still my main bedside gun.
If, God forbid, a small child gets access to a loaded gun, there is far less chances they could pull the trigger on a revolver.
A semi-auto with the slide locked back and the magazine by it, can be loaded very fast.
I would never trust a safety. I had a safety fail on a brand new 1911.
As they get bigger and more inquisitive you need to take more precautions.